The League of Augsburg

Fate, Fortune or Faithlessness? Camaret Bay 18th June, 1694 Part 1

This piece was first run in Wargames Illustrated in 2016. I thought it a solid multi-parter to run on the blog whilst I am holidaying.

Contemporaneous notoriety

The disastrous attack at Camaret Bay on June 18th1694 was a very English tragedy. From a distance of 322 years it is easy to understand that a relatively minor operation which went badly wrong and resulted in the death of a largely forgotten...

Marlborough's Danes




Yes, I know. How could Warfare have produced such an important component of the armies of the period without me getting my act together and at least letting everyone see what they look like in battalions?
An unforgivable omission but as always I will trot out my 'one man team' excuse. Well, that and Ottomans, Wagonburgs, wee ships, Cossacks and the like.




Anyway at last I have some units of Danes to...

Nice little Boaties - Modelling 1/2400 warships for wargaming 1650-1720

Royal Charles 2nd Rate -the sixth attempt. 1st Rate on the right, my first attempt - many learns in between.


Taking the title from Gunter Heim's description of the models featured on the 'Sink the Dreadnought' piece, I can do nothing but agree. The 1/2400 scale models from Tumbling Dice representing ships of the Anglo Dutch War period are good for circa 1640 - 1720 I would say. Many were built in...

Did you hear the one about four Dutch Heokers? December 1689.

Eilean Dub Mor, December 4, 1689




A regimental camp at Dundalk October 1689 - King William's soldier die in droves daily.
William III and his army landed at Carrickfergus, Ulster in August 1689 and the international struggle for Ireland began. His army was ill-served by its officers and during the terrible winter camp at Dundalk thousands of men died from disease. The situation was disastrous and...

Blood & Cutts Part 3

The final part of a piece on one of the country's forgotten Lions...

An appraisal of England’s fire eating general 




Cutts probably did not get into the heat of battle at Blenheim but his commanded a large body of the army.

Cutts on the table top

In a skirmish game John Cutts would be a fearless leader with a nose for danger. Fond of impetuous charges, close combat and impossible odds. A character who...

Blood & Cutts! Part 2

The second part of my piece on Lord John Cutts of Gowran.

An appraisal of England’s fire eating general


English hero - for sure, Subject of Swiftian satire - definitely!

What he did best

His speciality was leading assaults into the breach. Many of his wounds were received in such situations. He seemed to gravitate towards peers and superiors with a similar disposition to his own. One such, Thomas...

Blood & Cutts! Part 1


This article appeared in issue #379 May 2019 or Wargames Illustrated. I am publishing it on the blog in three parts as it is fairly long.

An appraisal of England’s fire eating general 



   
John Cutts painted by Wissing around 1687, aged about 24
Who?
Like many notable men of his era, John Cutts is difficult to define in terms of good or bad, wrong or right. If considered only by his military deeds it...

William III's Italian Allies during the LoA War Book offer






Another generous offer from the Helion Company for members of the League of Augsburg Blog...

William III's Italian Ally: Piedmont and the War of the League of Augsburg 1683-1697 by CIRO PAOLETTI, illustrations by Bruno Mugnai




https://www.helion.co.uk/war-and-soldiers-in-the-early-reig…



from now till the end of March 
£25 post free within the UK, at cost shipping for the rest of the world.


To order the...

The Army of the United Provinces 1660-1687 Book Offer



For members of the League of Augsburg blog here in another attractive offer from Helion:


WARS AND SOLDIERS IN THE EARLY REIGN OF LOUIS XIV. VOLUME 1 - THE ARMY OF THE UNITED PROVINCES OF THE NETHERLANDS, 1660-1687 by Bruno Mugnai

https://www.helion.co.uk/war-and-soldiers-in-the-early-reig…



from now till the end of March 
£25 post free within the UK, at cost shipping for the rest of the world.




To order...

Focusing on Sedgemoor Part 3: The Rebel Army


A few militia style clothes may have been the most uniformed anyone got in Monmouth's Army

To describe the rebel forces as an army is probably being somewhat overgenerous. Several of the officer cadre including the Duke himself were soldiers, brave, proven and with battle experience gained in formal, continental wars. There were undoubtedly ex soldiers, deserters from the army, militiamen and...

One to One wargaming - table top reality

A real life soldier! Musketeer Sean of a Jacobite regiment in Ireland circa 1689. Copyright B Hilton.

Figure gaming usually falls into some broad categories in terms of scale. Firstly there is the model scale and secondly, the model to man ratio.

Typically 40mm, 28/25mm, 20mm, 15mm, 10mm, 6mm are the most common categories for the former. Of course there are several intermediate scales and some...

One to one wargaming: expanding the idea

Three 48 man companies of musketeers from the garrison of Derry. A company of Mountjoy's Regt at the centre.

I was very pleased that the first post on this subject was popular and that visitors were stimulated to consider the implications of frontages, deployment, fire methodologies and movement around the battlefield and its table top imitation.

A battalion of Jacobite Foot based for Beneath the...